The calendar has officially flipped to August and the hype is already building for college football season at the end of the month. This season, fans have one of the best matchups of the season to look forward to right off the bat when Ohio State takes on Texas.
The Buckeyes and Longhorns are already two of the top programs in the country, and there are plenty of storylines surrounding the matchup after the two squared off in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl last season.
On Monday, the blockbuster clash got even more juice. Texas came in at No. 1 in the preseason Coaches Poll, making this the first time ever that the top two teams in either major poll will face off in Week 1, according to Buckeyes Wire.
The preseason AP Poll still has not been released yet, so it remains to be seen whether that will follow suit and have Texas and Ohio State in the top two spots. Penn State, Clemson, Georgia, and many others also have legitimate claims to be the top team in the nation coming into the year, so it could also go the other way.
Regardless, this will be a game that everybody is tuned into. While there will be revenge on the mind of Texas after it lost to Ohio State in the CFP last season, there will still be enough differences between both teams to provide some intrigue.
The starting quarterbacks from last year's playoff game, Will Howard and Quinn Ewers are out, and Julian Sayin and Arch Manning are in. There's an argument to be made, especially on the Texas side, that the change may make them even more dangerous, so there could be some fireworks in Week 1.
There is also the intrigue of the game being played in Columbus at The Shoe, adding an extra layer of difficulty for the top-ranked team in the Coaches Poll in Manning's first game as the full-time starter. All signs are pointing to one of the games of the year getting fans into the season right off the bat.
